


[Meta] Why Frank And Alice Longbottom Are Even More Tragic

by cassie5squared



Series: Potter Meta: Thoughts on the Wizarding World [2]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Gen, Meta
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-31
Updated: 2017-05-31
Packaged: 2018-11-07 09:19:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 181
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11055984
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cassie5squared/pseuds/cassie5squared
Summary: A brief comment on what makes the final fate of Neville's parents even more heartbreaking.





	[Meta] Why Frank And Alice Longbottom Are Even More Tragic

Something that struck me while re-reading Order of the Phoenix:

People always talk about Frank and Alice Longbottom as being so brave, never breaking or giving in to the Lestranges and Barty Crouch Junior, even at the cost of their own sanity.

Don’t get me wrong, I agree that they had to be extremely courageous people. They fought in the Order of the Phoenix. They were well-known and well-liked and acclaimed as very capable Aurors. They defied Voldemort three times - as we know from the canon prophecy - which took some serious guts.

But here’s the thing: they didn’t give in to ther captors because they literally couldn’t.

They were being interrogated as to the whereabouts of Voldemort - which they **_didn’t know_**. They couldn’t have said anything even if they’d wanted to.

Frank and Alice were driven insane because their captors preferred to believe that they were lying over the idea that they didn’t actually know anything. _That’s_ what makes it so heartbreaking. There was no way for them to protect themselves, no escape - they told the truth, and were broken anyway.


End file.
